Falcons reportedly have already made Kirk Cousins decision

The Atlanta Falcons and veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins reworked the final two years of his contract on Tuesday.

It has created a situation where the Falcons would likely release him if the two sides didn't work out an amended deal before $67.9M in guaranteed money for the 2027 season vested on March 13 of this year. Some quickly noted that Cousins and the Falcons may have punted discussions about his future down the road via Tuesday's developments. It seems that's not the case. 

Kirk Cousins, Falcons reportedly have come to final agreement

"His contract modification was part of a quid pro quo aimed at ensuring his release early in the free-agency period," Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio wrote about the situation. "It will happen with a post-June 1 designation, splitting the $35M in dead cap money over two years. The movement of the bulk of Cousins' 2026 salary to 2027 gives the team a lower cap number to carry until the release officially hits the financial books on June 2. The $67.9M guarantee that vests on March 13 ensures that they’ll release him between the start of the league year on March 11 and the close of business on March 12."

The Cousins-Falcons marriage didn't go as planned after he signed a four-year, $180M contract that included $100M guaranteed to join the club in March 2024. Atlanta subsequently selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick of the 2024 draft, and Penix replaced Cousins as the Falcons' QB1 when the team was 7-7 that December.  

Cousins' deal included a no-trade clause, and no team that interested him made a big play for his services before he decided this past summer that he would open the campaign as Penix's backup. The Falcons then had to turn to Cousins for the final seven weeks of this season after Penix needed surgery to repair a partially torn ACL. Cousins went 5-2 and tallied 10 touchdown passes with five interceptions over those games.

Falcons did Kirk Cousins a solid

"For Cousins, agreeing to the deal prevented the Falcons from paying his $10M roster bonus on the fifth day of the league year in March (which is already guaranteed) and squatting on his rights through August, since his $35M salary for 2026 isn’t guaranteed," Florio added. "...It’s always better to get to the market sooner, and Cousins will be there by the second day of the league year. More importantly, every team now knows that he’ll definitely be available, which means he’ll be a significant factor in the looming quarterback carousel that will spin after the coaching carousel comes to a stop."  

According to Pro Football Reference, Cousins finished Week 18 ranked 26th in the NFL among qualified players with a 48.1 adjusted QBR and 32nd with an 84.8 passer rating for the 2025 regular season. Such numbers are hardly impressive, but history shows that at least one team could view the 37-year-old as a so-called "bridge option" at the position later this year.